Chapter 8 Big Boss Howard

Shawn nodded, his eyes glued to Amelia as she poured her heart into her performance. "Yeah, she's having a tough time."

The music hit Shawn hard, and he couldn't tear himself away.

Lucius Howard's lips twisted into a cold smile as he shot Shawn a knowing look. "I'd think twice before stepping in for her—it'll only cause trouble."

"Why?" Shawn paused mid-sip, caught off guard by Lucius's warning.

Lucius was usually aloof, it was rare for him to offer any advice.

"She's not someone you want to get involved with," Lucius chuckled, as if recalling something amusing. "Trust me, keep your distance."

With that, he turned and walked away, his tall, lean frame radiating an icy detachment.

Normally, Shawn would heed Lucius's advice. He had a long-standing friendship with Shawn's father and rarely offered Shawn any guidance. Most people never even got a chance to talk to Lucius.

But a rebellious spark ignited in Shawn. "I want to see why Amelia is off-limits." The stark difference between Amelia's past and present intrigued him.

Meanwhile, Amelia had no clue that her fate had just been nudged by a powerful hand.

She was just grateful for the chance and focused on her performance.

Luckily, she'd played the piano in the Spencer Villa's living room over the years, so she wasn't too rusty, even if the Spencer family often looked down on her for it.

The first day's performance went off without a hitch.

Gary transferred the salary to herand said, "Keep it up! Lots of guests loved your playing today."

Encouraged, Amelia showed up early the next morning.

For four days straight, she received kindness and praise, and managed to avoid any trouble.

But that afternoon, as she was about to leave, she had a little mishap.

"Sophia, wait for me at home. I'm going out to get groceries, tonight we..." Before she could finish, her phone was knocked to the ground by someone, and she almost fell.

A pair of strong arms caught her. Their eyes met, and a chill ran down Amelia's spine. How did she end up running into Lucius here?

Lucius was the enigmatic and powerful figure in the Spencer family. Besides Chris, he was the only one in line to inherit, and one of the few who could stand up to Chris. Apart from Chris's grandfather, Lucius was the only one who dared to speak his mind in front of Chris, even though he was just the adopted son of the Spencer family.

Lucius had never interacted with Amelia, never even seen her at Spencer family events. She'd been overlooked for years, and Lucius had no reason to know her. So, even though they were technically family, it didn't mean much.

"Sorry..." Amelia felt helpless.

Lucius, with his rimmed glasses that always seemed to hide his emotions, gave off an air of detachment. "Are you okay?" He had someone pick up her phone and hand it back to her.

Amelia felt a chill and instinctively wanted to step back from his intense presence.

"I'm fine," she said, turning to leave.

"Miss Tudor," Lucius called out suddenly.

Amelia's back stiffened.

She felt an inexplicable coldness, thinking this adopted son of the Spencer family was even more intimidating than the ruthless Chris.

"What's up?" she asked, surprised he knew who she was.

"Your piano playing is excellent, and the restaurant's customer satisfaction has been high these past few days," Lucius smiled.

Amelia finally realized Lucius owned the restaurant where she worked.

"Thank you." After years of being a housewife, it was the first time someone acknowledged her worth, and she smiled slightly. "I'll keep working hard."

She didn't dare stay any longer; Lucius's gaze carried an emotion she couldn't decipher.

Lucius watched her leave, his gaze deep.

"Mr. Howard," the male assistant who had helped pick up her phone said softly, "Miss Tudor's eyes resemble Ms. White's a bit." Maybe it was the reason that Mr. Howard paid attention to her.

"Jace, how long have you been with me?" Lucius didn't look away, still indifferent.

Jace Smith's expression changed dramatically. He lowered his head and held his breath. "Three years."

"Is that so?" Lucius said calmly, "You can leave now."

Those words meant he was fired. Jace's face turned pale, and he didn't dare speak.

Jace thought, 'But why? Did I say something wrong? Amelia and Bella White did resemble each other, especially in their eyes.'

Lucius brushed off non-existent dust from his sleeve with one hand, then turned and walked away. Amelia looks like Bella? She didn't deserve it.

On the sixth day, including tips, Amelia had earned a hundred thousand dollars, but it was still far from the five hundred thousand she needed.

During these days, she had been trying to find other ways to make money, but all had failed.

Sophia was also short on money and couldn't lend her any. Although Shawn had offered several times, she had refused.

Amelia decided to finish today's work first and think of a way later.

"Isn't that Amelia? What's she doing here?" A familiar yet strange male voice called out, and Amelia couldn't help but be stunned.

She glanced towards the restaurant entrance and saw several familiar figures.

The man who had just spoken was Leila's friend. These individuals were all part of his gang, not a single decent person among them.

Every time they met before, he would humiliate her like teasing a pet, and those around him would laugh uproariously. Were they planning to torment her again?

"Don't you recognize us?" The man walked over directly.